An example of Stride & Cadence with Paul Chelimo and Luis Orta

I saw this video recently and thought it was a great opportunity to highlight the difference movement can make to running at top speed.

If you’ve been following for a while you’ll know I don’t use cadence as a cue, but it is a good indicator. In this case Paul Chelimo is 204 and Luis Orta is 240.

Why? Possibly more powerful and therefore creates more force.

In a movement capacity however, there are a few reasons.

Luis Orta (front runner – Venezuelan Olympian)

• Thoracic extension/lumbar extension (arched back): this does a number of things – moves centre of mass backwards, restricts breathing, changes hip/pelvis tilt.
• The biggest thing this does though is limits range of motion through hips, particularly extension!
• Once this range of motion is restricted, generating any power through hip extension is reduced and therefore stride length becomes shorter.
• To run at that speed he therefore has to take more steps to maintain pace which requires a lot more effort.

Paul Chelimo (back runner – American 2 time Olympic Medallist in the 5000m)

• Good thoracic position leading to good pelvic tilt/hip position.
• This allows full range of motion through hips including range for extension.
• Now this could all be ruined if he rushes through his movements and gives less time but he doesn’t.
• He gives himself time to go through the full range of motion to create more power in each stride and therefore covers more distance per step (in the air!) and requires less steps for the same pace.

This is not a stride runner vs a cadence runner. This is someone that moves well vs someone who is being restricted. Stride and cadence runner is jargon.

You can check out the full video at Paul Chelimo’s YouTube channel or watch below, he is doing a lot of great work there to grow the sport by highlighting his training.

Read more on cadence: Is There An Ideal Cadence When Running?

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